It’s Not That Bad -- Yet

A friend of mine in our ARP group shared something -- and as
he shared it the spirit told me to pay attention!

He said that too many times when he was
tempted and should have prayed, he said to himself, “I don’t need to pray -- I
can wait -- it’s not that bad! -- I’ll pray
if it gets worse.”

Then he discovered later that he should have taken the time
to pray. Because in an instant we can go
from “It’s not that bad” to “It’s already too late!”

So where does the thought “it’s not that bad” come
from? I think it comes from two sources.
It comes from Satan who wants to delay our getting help until it’s too
late. But it also comes from our own pride:

“I can handle this by myself!’

“I don’t need help!”

“I’m strong!”

“I’ll wait and see if this goes away.”

“It’s not that bad” is
what I would call “Magic Thinking.” It’s
like putting our hand over our eyes. It’s not realistic and it’s not being
honest.

This magic thinking doesn’t just pertain to prayer. It pertains to all three parts of PMS.

Prayer: It’s not that bad so I don’t need to pray. I’ll
do that if it gets worse.

Move: It’s not that bad so I don’t need to change my
environment. I’ll do that if it gets
worse.

Support: It’s not that bad so I don’t need to reach out
and get support. I’ll do that if it gets
worse.

And, of course, it almost always gets worse. And by the time we realize it’s gotten worse,
it’s too late. We have either already acted out or we are at the point of no return.

We need to recognize that any time we start to tell
ourselves “It’s not that bad” ---- “it really is that bad!” And we need to
do something about it right now: Pray
or Move or get Support.

What would the harm be if we did any one of those things too
soon?

It’s never too soon to pray.

It’s never too soon to move and change a
negative environment.

It’s never too soon to reach out and get or give
support.

So the next time you think “I can wait, it’s not that bad,”
THINK AGAIN!